Slug eliminator for vending machines



April 1, 1930. A. E. JOHNSON SLUG ELIMINA'EOR FORVENDING MACHINES Fii d Aug. 29. 1927 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 gr unnko'c aw a/z. W

April 1, 1930. A. E. JOHNSON SLUG ELIMINATOR FOR VENDING MACHIHES Filed Aug. 29, 1927 2 $heets-Sheet 2 lllllllll'llll |||ll||||\ Patented Apr. 1, 1930 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE mm 11 JOHNSON, or nnnvnn, oonoaano, assrenon zro THE wnnran MANUFAC- runme CORPORATION, or mama, COLORADO, a CORPORATION or COLORADO SLUG :annuna'roa FOR vnzunmo umcnmas Application filed August 29, 1927. Serial No. 216,158. I

My invention relates to vending machines which are designedto receive a coin and to' then automatically'deliver the article, material, or perform the operation which a they control, so that no salesmanor attendant is reoluired for an reason.

he object o a my invention is'to provide a device for such vending machines, which will reject all spurious or imitation coins or slugs, and 'for this reason I have called it a slug eliminator.

I Slugs may vary'from genuine coins in dimensions and in material. In my slug eliminator I have provided a compound sizer which acts to reject all coins or slugs of whatever material, that are not of standard size in either diameter or thickness,

or in both diameter and thickness.

I have also provided means to eliminate slugsmade of the various materials most commonly used, in making imitation coins, but

which may be of the correct dimensions.

Thus, my slu eliminator will eliminate -sl ugs that vary rom genuine .coins in either dimensions or material, as will appear below.

. In the drawings Figure 1 is a front elevation of my slug eliminator adapted for the reception 0 coins of three different denominations.

Figure 2 is a section on the line 2-2 of Figure 1.

Figure 3 is afsection on the line 33 of Figure 2, but showing onlythe details of the one l the 'coin- -*releajse position, f'th'esection being which will contain several separate units to handle coins of difi'erent denominations or only one unit may be used. And, as the'construction, operation and adjustments of the.

various units are similar, the description will be confined to the one unit illustrated in detail, that for the largest coin, that is, the dollar size,

My slug eliminator is to be used with any vending machine which is operated by a coin, and the operating'mechanism of the vending machine is no part of this invention, since this invention is merely to insure that only genuine coins are admitted to operate the vending machine.

Therefore, though I show portions of one form that a vending machine may take, m slug eliminator is intended to cO-operate wit any vending machine whatever, by the proper connections, installation, and relations between the two asany intelligent mechanic versed in such matters would readily percelve.

My slug elimnator is provided with a prop-- er casing 1, which may be a unit as shown and attached to the vending machine as an accessory thereto, or may be made as an integral part of the vending machine, if desired.

The face plate 2 is provided with the feed slots 3 and with the reject slots 4, the reject slot bar l'and theslot 5 through which the shank of the operating handle 6 is adapted to ass.

The feed slot? is of such a size that it will just pass a new genuine dollar. That is, any coin that is even slightly larger than a genuine dollar either in diameter or thickness willnot-pass through the feed slot 3,

which thus acts as the eliminator for all over size slugs, whether the are oversize in diameter, or thiclmess, or 0th. Hence all coins which do pass through the feed slot 3 are either of standard size or are smaller than standard in one or both dimensions.

A reject coin receptacle either integral with the face plate 2 or se arate therefrom, may be employed if desire in place of the reject slot bar 4. v

The operatin handle 6 is mounted in the operating slide g and because of the slot 5, the handle and the slide 7 may be moved a limited distance to the right from the normal coin receiving position shown in Figure 1. v

The slide? is held in its channel in the face plate 2, in which it is free to slide, by the holding strips 8, and the screws 9.

The coin chute 11 is provided with the,

coin channel 12, into which any coin fed through the feed slot 3 passes.

The coin chute 11 is attached to the slide 7 by the screws 13.

Thus, the movement of the slide 7 by the handle 6, moves the coin chute of one or all of the slug eliminator units to the coin release position shown in Figure 8; in which position the portion 11 of the chute 11 covers the feed slot 3, so that only one coin can be fed at a time, and so that it will be impossible to reach awire or other instrument down into the channel 12 of the coin chute in the endeavor to obstruct the proper operation of the eliminator.

In operating my slug eliminator the coin is first inserted through the feed slot 3 as indicated by the dotted circle 15.

The coin falls downward in the coin channel 12 of the chute 11 to the position indicated by the dotted circle 15, where it contacts with the beveled upper face of the thickness gauge 16 of the compound sizer 17 The weight of the coin on the beveled face of the thickness gauge 16 causes the sizer 17 to move slightly about its pivot pin 18, allow ing the coin to drop down till it is caught between the face plate 2 and the diameter gauge 19, as indicated by the dotted circle 20.

If the coin is a genuine dollar of standard diameter and thickness it will come to rest as shown, with its periphery bearing against the diameter gauge 19 and against the face plate 2, the line joining these two points of contact being just slightly below the center of the coin.

At the same time, the thickness gauge 16 will bear against the side of the coin, pressing it against the opposite inner face of the coin chute 11.

Movement of the handle 6 to the right will release the genuine dollar from the sizer 17 as will appear below.

This movement of the handle 6, slide 7 and chute 11 to the right to release the coin will only be necessary, however, in case the coin is genuine or very close to the size of a genuine coin in both diameter and thickness, as will appear below.

If the coin is not genuine but is of full standard thickness, though slightly smaller 1n diameter than the genuine, the clearance between the diameter auge 19 and the coin will allow the sizer 1 to swing about its pivot pin 18 and pull the away from the coin and it will be rejected; that is, it will then be able to pass downward between the face plate 2 and the diameter gauge 16 and fall down the channel 12 of the chute 11 and be directed by the angle of the reject guide 22 to the reject slot 4, where it will come to rest a ainst the reject slot bar 4 as indicated by tie dotted circle 21. The reject guide 22 is provided with the guide plate 22, attached thereto and to the rebound anvil 33, by the screws 10.

If the coin is 'of standard diameter, but thinner than the standard, the thickness gauge before coming into contact with the coin will swing the sizer 17 about its pivot pin 18, which movement will move the diameter gauge 19 away from the coin and allow it to drop between the diameter gauge 19 and the face plate 2, and be rejected.

In other words, because of the inter-connection of the action of the two gauges, a coin must be up to standard not only in thickness but also in diameter, or it will be allowed to fall through the sizer 17 and be rejected.

Because of the connection between the two gauges and the compound action thus obtained, the sizer is extremely sensitive and will reject coins just barely below its critical size, but which, by direct comparison with a genuine dollar would appear to the layman to be exactly the same size as the genuine dollar.

This extreme delicacy and accuracy is obtained not alone by the compound construction of the sizer but also by its combination with an adjustment by which the sizer may be set to the exact critical size desired with great precision, as follows The sizer pivot pin 18 is mounted on the sizer spring 24, to which it is attached by the rivets 25.

The sizer spring 24 is attached to the coin chute 11 by the screw 26.

The sizer adjusting screw 23 is threaded through the pivot pin 18 and its end is held in contact with the outer surface of the coin chute ll by the pressure of the sizer spring 24.

As noted above, because of the construction of my sizer, any variation in either gauge will affect the other, and may be divided between them. Thus, a difference at the thickness gauge will allow a coin to fall through the sizer whether the coin differs from the standard in either diameter or thickness, as will a difference at the diameter gauge.

Because ofthis, a slight adjustment of the sizer adjusting screw 23 will vary the dis tance between the thicknes gauge 16 and the thickness gauge 16 opposite inner face of the coin chute 11, and this will in efiect vary the critical size of the sizer.

In making this adjustment the screw 23 is so set that a enuine but .worn dollar will not fall through ut will be prevented from fall-- ing through b only the smallest margin. It will then be ound that'any coin not made precisely the size of a genuine dollar, in both diameter and thickness, will be rejected at once by being allowed to pass through the And, by the com ined action of the feed slot 3 as an oversize slu eliminator, and the sizer as an undersize s ug eliminator, oversize slugs which might am the device are prevented from entering and undersize slugs are at once rejected. u

Thus, the great majority of all slugs com monly employed will be eliminated and only those made quite precisely to the diameter and the thickness of a genuine dollar will be retained by my slug eliminator at this stage. And, for slugs whichiare very carefuly made to all the dimensions of a standard dollar, I have provided further means of elimination as follows The release stop 27 attached to the face plate 2 by the screw 28, carries the return spring 29, which is attached thereto by the screw 30, and which acts to return the coin chute 11 and the slide 7 to the normal position. Since the coin chute 11 of each unit of my slug eliminatormay be attached to the guide 7 the one spring 29 may be sufiicient for the entire block and need not be duplicated in all the other units;

The release adjusting screw 31 is threaded through the enlarged body of the sizer pivot pin 18 and is adapted to contact with the release stop 27 as the coinchute 11 is moved with the slide 7 by the action of the handle 6.

As the screw 31 contacts with the stop 27, further movement of the sizer pivot pin 18 is prevented, while the chute 11 and the slide 7 continue in their movement till the action is stopped by contact of the handle 6 with the end of the slot 5 in the face plate 2.

This produces relative movement between the coin,

18 and release the diameter gauge 19 as indicated above, allowing the coin to drop.

The chute 11 is then returned to the normal position by the return spring 29, the return movement being limited by the contact of the handle 6 with the end of the slot 5 in the face plate 2 But, befdre the return of the chute 11 to the normal position and while it is still in the coin release position as shown in Figure 8, and while the feed slot 3 is still covered by the chute portion 11', the coin drops down through the coin channel 12 in the coin chute 11 and encounters a damper, which is composed of the brake spring 32.

The brake spring 32 is mounted on the outer face of the coin chute 11 by the screw 32, and its brake or damper effect is adjusted by the nut 35, on the threaded stud 35'.

The brake spring 32 passes through an opening in the side of the coin chute 11, and as the coin falls down through the chute the brake spring 32 acts as a damper and retards its fall for reasons which will appear below.

The rebound anvil 33, preferably of hard brass or bronze, and having an inclined upper face, is attached to the, face plate 2 by the screws 37. The steel magnet 34 is attached to the anvil 33 by the clamping plate 36'and the screws 36'. J

The adjacent wall of the chute 11 is provided with an aperture 38 whose edges as seen in Figure 2, clear the edges of the magnet 34, so that there will be no contact be tween them when the chute 11 is in the coin release position. 1

The chute 11 has its back wall cut awa from the bottom of the chute to a point suc as 39, and the slotted baflle plate 40, attached to the chute 11 by the screw 41 acts as an adjustable extension of the lower end of the cut-away back wall for purposes described.

, barrier 43, which is attached to the anvil 33 by the screw 44.

I have found that this resiliency or rebounding ability of a genuine dollar is not found in any coin of nearly the same weight which is made of the common metals or alloys ordinarily used for making slugs, with the exception of iron or steel, which will be considered below.

The bafile plate 40 is set at such a height I that a genuine dollar will not quite strike it as it rebounds from the anvil 33. The barrier 43 is set at such a height that a genuine dollar will just nicely clear it on its rebound from the anvil 33.

Such metals as lead will not rebound high enough to clear the barrier 43; any metal with much more resilience than a genuine dollar will rebound too high and will strike the baliie plate 40.

In either case the'coin will not be able to.

pass backward out of the chute 1'1, but will fall back "upon the anvil 33, and when the chute returns to the normal position the coin will pass out of the reject slot 4 and rest against the reject slot bar 4'.

In the case of some alloy slugs which have nearly the same resilience as a genuine dollar but have not the sameweight, the elimination will take lace through the action of the damper or rake spring 32, as follows In settingthe eliminator, the adjusting nut 35 of the brake spring 32 is set to give the brake just the proper amount'of dra on a genuine dollar as it passes down the annel 12 in the chute 11, such that the dollar will rebound, after striking the anvil 33 just enough to clear the barrier 43, but not enough to strike the baflle plate 40, both the barrier and the bafile plate being adjustable in hei ht, as stated above.

en a coin of the same size and resilience as a genuine dollarQbut of. different weight is not rejected by the sizer butis allowed to fall upon the anvil 33, the brake spring 32 will have the same friction upon it as upon a genuine dollar, but its change in velocity because of this applied friction will be difier ent from that of the dollar because of the difference in its weight from that of a dollar, and hence it will not strike the anvil with the same velocity as the genuine dollar and will not rebound the same.

If the coin is heavier than a dollar it will rebound higher than a dollar and will be turned back into the channel 12 of the chute 11 by the bafile plate 40.

If it is lighter than a dollar it will not rebound high enough to clear the barrier 43.

And, should the coin happen to be of iron or steel or any alloy or compound upon which a magnet will act, it will be prevented by the pull of the magnet 34 from rebounding high enough to clear the barrier even though its weight, size and resilience are the same as found in a dollar, and so it will be rejected through the reject slot 4, when the chute 11 returns to the normal position.

It will thus be seen that in order to pass through my slug eliminator, a coin must not only be exactly the standard size, but it must be very close to the same weight and the same resilience as a genuine dollar and must not be subject to the action of a magnet.

Hence an slug which will successfully pass through my slug eliminator must be made with practically the same care and precision as a genuine dollar, not only in size, but also in material. Thus my slug eli1ninator practically eliminates any serious danger to vending machines from slugs.

The coin after clearing the barrier 43 strikes the stop 52 and comes to rest as indicated by the dotted circle 53.

The barrier 43 may carry the pivoted table 45, provided with the coin guides 46, and the electrical contact point 47, the table 45- being held in place by the spring 51, adjustably supported from the base 49 b the adjusting adapted by proper adjustment of the spring 51 to force t e two points 47 and 48 into contact, completing the electric circuit which operates the vending machine. When the article or material has been delivered by the vending machine the stop-52 is raised about its pivot point to the position shown in dotted lines as at 54, and the coin passes from the table 45 as indicated by the dotted circle 55, and into the coin receptacle of the vending machine.

As indicated above, the exact design, construction, or operation of the vending machine is not material to this invention, since it is concerned only with preventing any other than genuine coins from passing between the battle plate 40 and the barrier 43 and into the vending machine; and any coin which does pass through my eliminator may pass thence into any form or kind of vending machine and it will operate the same as if my slug eliminator had not been in place, except for the fact that no purchases can be made from the machine except by the use of genuine coins.

If desired, of course, my slug eliminator may be used as an integral part of a vending machine; and it is for this reason that a portion of one form of such a machine is shown.

I am well aware that there are many modifications which can be made in the construction shown and described without departing from the essence of my invention, and which any intelligent mechanic might make in an endeavor to gain greater simplicity or cheaper production costs, once my invention had been disclosed to him; but I do not consider that such alterations would be more than mechanical. equivalents, so what I claim as new, and desire to protect by Letters Patent, is as follows 1. In a slu eliminator forwending machines, means lepending upon the Weight and the resilience of a genuine coin and including resilient means to retard itsfall, an anvil having an inclined surface, and a magnet adjacent thereto, whereby its frictionally retarded fall upon and its subsequent free rebound from said inclined surface through the field of magnetic flux due to said magnet will act to segregate it from "slugs of different weight, resilience or material.

2. In a slug eliminator for vending machines, means depending upon the resilience and weight of a genuine coin and including resilientmeans to retard its fall, and an anvil having an inclined surface whereby itsfrictionally retarded fall upon and its subsequent free rebound from said inclined surface will act to segregate it from slugs of different weight and resilience.

through a field of magnetic flux, and resilient means to frictionally retard said fall and to thereby give'gennine coins a predetermined rebound, and means to reject all coins not rea bounding from the anvil with said predetermined rebound.

5. In a slug eliminator for vending machines provided with a feed slot adapted to act as oversize slug eliminator and provided with rejection means for undersize slugs, a sizer adapted to have a critical size and to pass undersize slugs to the rejection means and provided with a diameter gauge and a thickness gaugeand means pivotally mounted to give the two gauges inverse movement with respect to each other means to adjust the position of the pivotal mounting and therey adjust the critical size of the sizer, and means to vary the position of the pivotal mounting and thereby release a coin abovethe critical size from the sizer after a predetermined movement of the said pivotal mount- 6. In a slug eliminator for vending machines, the combination of a receiving slot of a size equal tothat of a genuine coin, with means providing a passage from the receiving slot, an adjustable pivoted sizer provided with inversely acting connected diameter and thickness gauges adjacent said passage and adapted to hold all pieces of genuine coin size for reception by'the vending machine, and to drop-and reject allpieces under genuine coin size, and meansto release any piece held in the sizer after a predetermined movement thereof;

7. In a slug eliminator for vending machines, means providing a coin passage, a pivotal mounting, a sizer having a critical size pivotally mounted on said pivotal mounting adjacent said passage and composed of a diameter gauge and a thickness gauge and means connecting the gauges to give them inverse movement with respect to each other, means to adjust the position of said pivotal mounting and thereby adjust the critical size of the sizer, and means to move the pivotal mounting and means to release from the sizer any piece above the critical size, after a predetermined movement of the sizer.

8. In a slug eliminator for vending machines, a sizer adapted to have a critical size and to pass undersize pieces and comprising a coin chute, a diameter auge, a thickness gauge and means pivotafiymounted adjacent the chute to give the two gauges inverse movement with respect to each other, means to adj ustthe position of the pivotal mounting and thereby adjust the critical size of the sizer, and means to vary the position of the pivotal mounting and thereby release a piece above the critical size from the sizer after a predetermined movement of'the said pivotal mounting.

9. In a slug el'minator, a sizer adapted to have a critical size and to pass pieces smaller than said critical size in either diameter or thickness, and comprising a coin chute, a diameter gauge adapted to co-operate with the inner surface of one wall'of said chute, a thickness gauge adapted to co-operate with another wall of said chute, means connecting the two gauges to give them inverse movement with respect to each other and adjustable in position whereby the critical size of the co-operate with one of said walls, a thickness gauge adapted to co-operate with the other of said walls, means connecting the two gauges to give them inverse movement with respect to each other and adjustable in position whereby the critical size of the sizer may be adjusted, and means to var the sition of the said means and there y re ease a piece above the critical size from the sizer after a predetermined movement of the first named means.

11. In a slug eliminator for vending machines, means provided with a slot for rejecting oversize slugs, means to reject all undersize slugs including a movable adjustable sizer having interdependent diameter and thickness gauges and a release device, an anvil with an inclined face, means adapted to contact the release device and to' thereby drop coins not rejected by the sizer after a prec etermined releasing movement thereof upon the anvil whereby genuine coins will have a predetermined rebound, and means to reject all coins not rebounding from the anvil with said predetermined rebound.

12. In a slug eliminator for vendingmachines, means provided with a slot to reject all oversize coins, means to receive all coins terial;

13. In a slug eliminator for vending machines, means provided with a slot to reject oversize slugs, means to receive all coins, not so rejected and to reject all coins undersize in either diameter or thickness, manually operated means to release coins not so rejected and means dependingup the resilience of a genuine coin and including resilient means to retard its fall, an anvil having an inclined surface and a magnet adjacent thereto whereby its frictionally retarded fall upon and its subsequent free rebound from said inclined surface through the field of magnetic flux due to said magnet will act to segregate it from slugs of dilferent resilience, or material, or weight.

14. In a slug eliminator for vending machines, means provided with a slot to reject all oversize slugs, means to receive all coins not so rejected and to reject all slugs undersize in diameter or thickness, manually operated means to release coins not so rejected and means depending upon the resilience of a genuine com andincluding resilient means to retard 1ts fall, and an anvil with an inclined surface whereby its fall upon and its subseuent free rebound from said inclined surace will act to segregate it from slugs of different resilience.

15. In a slu eliminator for vending machines, an anvi with an inclined face, means provided with a slot to reject all oversize coins, means to receive all coins not so rejected and to reject all coins undersize in diameter or thickness including an adjustable sizer having interdependent diameter and thickness gauges, manually operated means to release and drop coins standard in both diameter and thickness upon the anvil, whereby genuine coins will have a predetermined rebound, and means to reject all coins not reboundin from the anvil wit-h said predetermined re ound.

16. In a slug eliminatorfor vending ma: chines, means provided with a slot to reject all oversize slugs means to receive all coins not so rejected and to reject all slugs undersize in diameter or thickness including an ad ustable sizer having interdependent diameter and thickness gauges, an anvil with an inclined face, a magnet adjacent thereto, manually operated means to release full sized coins from the sizer and permit them to fall 

